Arguments have been put forward for many years
to change the law in Turkey [File: EPA]

A proposal to allow women in universities to wear traditional headscarves is set to be presented to Turkey's parliament.

The governing Justice and Development (AK) party and the opposition Nationalist Movement (MHP) party will make the move on Tuesday, Devlet Bahceli, the MHP leader said.

The scarf is a highly sensitive issue in Muslim but secular Turkey where the old elite, which also comprises army generals, view it as a symbol of political Islam and a threat to the separation of state and religion.

The proposal will lift the ban only on the traditional headscarf tied under a woman's chin.

Bahceli said: "Chadors, veils and burqas will not be allowed," referring to Islamic clothing that covers the whole body.

"No one will be allowed to use head scarves as political statements against the state."

Teachers and public office workers will still be banned from wearing all types of headcovering.

Proposal criticised

The move has drawn criticism from judges and university rectors in Turkey's powerful secular elite.
The AK party has wanted to change the law banning the headscarf in universities, first introduced after a military coup in 1980, for many years. In video